Make Your Home Go Green

Environmental concerns are fast catching the conscience of urban dwellers. Busy city lives causes people to lose touch with their environmental responsibilities. However as more people wake up to energy conservation, eco-friendly products and sustainable ways of living, there's greater awareness in communities than ever before. With small steps, one can be contribute to lower emissions, energy conservation, all in all lower carbon footprint. They may seem very inconsequential, but when larger groups of home owners start living more consciously it is bound to make an impact. It's easy to incorporate eco friendly ideas while decorating homes. Here are a few of them.

Efficient Skylights

Lilyville Road, Fulham

Skylights are a great option for independent bungalows/ houses. If windows do need to be covered with curtains for privacy, transparent roofs can provide a perfect source of natural light during the day. It is also is a great option for buildings in colder regions as it allows good amount of warmth inside the house during those short days. Skylights are another excellent way of using natural light and reduction of electric power and ultimately reduction in electric bills.

Use Natural Light To The Max

The Larch House

India being a tropical country, there is no dearth of sunlight most part of the year. By using this freely available source of light, one can reduce the consumption of electricity to a big extent. Thoughtful planning while designing homes can allow maximum sunlight inside the house throughout the day. High ceilings and strategically placed windows and ventilators allow good flow of air so that the room does not become too uncomfortable.

Garbage Segregation Slots

Pull out waste bins

Incorporate garage segregating bins right into the kitchen cabinets. Disposal of waste should be done responsibly. Fortunately several apartment complexes and societies in cities are encouraging residents to segregate their waste in a proper way for more efficient garbage management. These bins do not need any lining and are easily removable and washable. Once segregated, one can even go on to the next step of composting wet garbage right in their homes.

Smart Toilets

Technology can be a great partner in green initiatives. Take the example of this super smart toilet. Apart from several other state-of-the art features, it utilizes very little water for functioning unlike the average toilet. It even eliminates the use of toilet paper through bidet feature. Toilet paper is so ubiquitous, people tend to overlook the environmental costs (tree felling) of producing rolls and rolls of it. More research and development in smart toilets can bring down costs and make them affordable to more people.

Upcycle Old Furniture

eco friendly reclaimed furniture

Beautiful things need not be brand new. Some smart and creative thinking can put to use old wood furniture and fit them perfectly in home interiors. A little repair here, a slight touch of new paint there can reinvigorate an old, dull and dusty table into a quirky stylish piece of furniture. Refurbish old furniture as a DIY project or hire a professional to do the job, classic old furniture adds a distinct character to the room, needless to say it saves cost.

Using Natural Materials

Retrofit—Residência Alphaville

Use of natural bricks both inside and for the exteriors is an excellent way of maintaining a cooler temperature in the house. Doing away with cement and other synthetic building materials not only reduce building costs, bricks have a distinct look and add some personality to the structure. Use of bricks in this modern kitchen makes it an interesting juxtaposition of both old and new.

Being green is a personal choice but definitely a more responsible one. There are several ways of incorporating sustainable living in our homes. Making room for them while planning the house goes a long way in ensuring that one continues on the same path. Being sensitive to the environment has rich benefits in the long term. Since going green means lesser use of resources, cost saving is a welcome by product!